Where's the Toy?

Mossiest, May 13, 2020; 19:45 / FB 56761
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Where's the Toy?
By: Mossiest

It had been a few days since the near-bad-poopies incident.  Toby was finally back to his normal daily routine - or as close as he could to it, now that he had a pet fluffy.

For most of the day, Liam would be his room, doing whatever it was fluffies did in their rooms.  Toby didn't know exactly what was in there; he knew there had to be a litterbox and a fluffy bed in there, and maybe some toys, but he'd yet to actually go inside.  Anything that he could possibly need to do in there, his sister did.  Or at least was supposed to do.

But when the fluffy wasn't locked in its room, behind a gate even Toby could walk over?

"Be cawefuw, smaww-daddeh!  Hoomin nummie-pwace am dis way!  Fowwow Weeum!"

He'd memorized the layout of his own house long ago, yet the fluffy insisted on leading him everywhere.  Whether or not the fluffy knew where to go - he had to tell Liam where to go a few times.  And it didn't help that he could walk faster than Liam - but if he tried to walk ahead, it would distress Liam.

Still, he didn't mind it too much; he was used to people helping him where he didn't need it.

And he was really learning to like Liam.  That little thing gave inexplicably-amazing hugs, and brushing against its fur (or fluff, as Liam would call it) was always a relaxing experience for the both of them.  And admittedly, he was finding himself singing along with Liam whenever the latter started singing - though he'd vehemently deny it when his sister pointed it out.

So he was fine with being led to the kitchen for yet another morning.

“Look who’s finally awake,” he heard his sister say, “Give me a sec.  I'll get you something to eat.”

"You let Liam out every morning to bring me here?" Toby asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Now why would you think I'd do that?" she asked, the thinly-veiled sarcasm bursting from every word.

"He's found me every time I leave my room.  Mom and dad don't really do anything with him, so it's gotta be you taking him out in the morning."

"And?  Is that a bad thing?"  He heard her crack something, and instantly knew she'd finally make a good breakfast for him this morning.

"Weeum wuv hewping smaww-daddeh!". He felt Liam wrap his legs around his ankle, then felt what he'd assumed was the fluffy's face press against his leg.  "Now smaww-daddeh can get nummies an nu have tummy-huwties nu mowe."

"I'm not starving, Liam.  I'm just hungry." He bent down, scratching the fluffy behind its ear as he heard something sizzling.  " About time she made something other than cereal."

"You're lucky I'm making you anything."

“Can Weeum twy hoomin nummies?  Dey smeww su good!”  Which was true enough; Toby could smell the omelette being made from where he was sitting, and those were one of the few things she knew how to make well.

“Not a chance.  I filled your bowl already.  And the place I bought you from said your poop gets runny if you eat anything else, and you'll get a bunch of health problems.”

“You sure that isn’t just bullshit so you keep buying from there?”

He felt the fluffy’s hug loosen, just a little.  “Pwease nu say bad-wowd, smaww-daddeh!  Dey nu am good!”

“Yeah, yeah.  Sorry ‘bout that, Liam.  But I hear fluffies can eat just about anything in a trashcan.”  He was pretty sure he’d even heard them rooting through one of their trashcans a couple of months ago.

"And then they make a mess everywhere.  That's why they get called..uh, rats."  He knew she meant to say "shitrats", but they didn't want to distress Liam any further; he got whiny when he got distressed.  "That's why you have to stay away from the ones you find outside.  Those ferals are just disgusting nagging messes.  We got a good domestic fluffy like Liam."

A small "Coo~" rose from the fluffy as it once again hugged his leg "tightly".  It was eerie how he sometimes made noises that other animals made, but he'd just learned to accept it by now.  He almost sounded like a human baby sometimes.

"Aight Tubby, food's ready."  As much as he wanted to tell her to stop with that name, he was too hungry to argue.  He heard her slide the plate over, the *plop* from the omelette hitting the dish just right.

He didn’t hesitate to dig in, carefully tasting the omelette to parse what was in it.  But as he was going through the filling, he heard his sister pouring something in a glass.  “*munch so what are you pouring this time?  More juice?”

“No.  I think I’ll stop giving you diabetes for now.  Besides, it’ll make up for no cereal today.”  It was pretty easy for him to guess that she was pouring him some milk.

But even if he didn’t guess it, he was getting the answer anyways.

“Why mummah give smaww-daddeh miwkies?” Liam asked, finally releasing his hug.  “Smaww-daddeh awweady can num nummies wiff teefies.  Nu need miwkies nu mowe.”

Toby paused with his breakfast as his sister let out a pretty loud snort.  “Who says I can’t have milk?  I’ve had some almost every day.  It’s supposed to help me grow big bones or something.”

“Weeum am stiww gwowing fwuffy, buh nu dwink miwkies nu mowe.  Weeum get su much bigga when nummin nummies an nu miwkies.  Maybeh smaww-daddeh get bigga if ownwy num nummies?”

His sister's snorting turned into full-blown laughter, and he had to stop eating out of sheer embarrassment.  "Liam, it's ok if I drink milk," he scolded the fluffy, "I still gotta drink milk so I get strong bones when I'm bigger."

"Su smaww-daddeh stiww need miwkies to gwow big and stwong?"

"Right.  I'm still a growing boy!"  He wasn't sure why that made his sister laugh even harder, but he just shrugged it off, going back to his omelette.

The rest of his meal was pretty uneventful, eating (and drinking) it all without a single scrap left/drop left.  As he left the table, he wondered what he'd do next - but he noticed the sound of Liam following beside him.  "Smaww-daddeh wan pway wiff Weeum?  Weeum wan pway wiff smaww-daddeh!"

Well, not like he had anything else in mind.  "Sure!  What do you want to play, Liam?"

"[I]Wan pway in Weeum's woom!  Have su many toysies tu pway wiff!  And wan smaww-daddeh tu feew what Weeum's woom am wike!  Smaww-daddeh nu go in Weeum's woom yet!  Fowwow Weeum![/i]"

A very compelling argument.  Toby followed Liam over to the latter's room, with plenty of noise guiding him along the way (not that he needed it - he'd memorized which room was Liam's by now).  He quickly noticed that the gate was open - which explained why he kept getting out every morning (no doubt his sister was opening it).

It was easy to feel how soft the floor was under his feet - almost as soft as Liam's hooves.  Yet the material didn't feel like carpet; it was more like padding.  It was pressed down under his weight, though it rebounded the moment he'd step off.  "I didn't know your room was this soft," Toby said, kneeling down so he could press against the floor with his fingers.

"Weeum's woom feews weawwy gewd!  Wike Weeum am wiff odda fwuffy fwends again."  The two walked further into the room, until Liam tapped Toby's leg.  "Dis am good pwace to pway.  Smaww-daddeh can sit nao."

Toby nodded, taking a seat.  If he remembered this room correctly, he was right in the middle - unless it got changed around when it was converted into Liam's room.  "So you used to be with a bunch of other fluffies?  What was that like?"

He heard Liam scurry around the room, his distinctive footsteps not at all covered by the soft floor.  "Weeum nu wemembah evewyfing, buh do wemembah when Weeum in boxie wiff wots of oddah fwuffies, when evewyfwuffy wanded nyu mummah ow nyu daddeh, aftah Weeum stop dwinkin miwkies.  Dewe su many odda fwuffies in boxies tu pway ow give huggies, an evewy dawkies-time, evewyfwuffy sweep in fwuffpiwe."  He paused for a moment, and it sounded like he was biting something.  "Weeum stiww a widdle sad dat nu have fwuffy fwends nu mowe, buh now have nyu mummah an smaww-daddeh!  And mummah-mummah and mummah-daddeh!"  he heard Liam approach again, until he was right in front of him.  "Weeum bwing smaww-daddeh bwockies on backsie.  Weeum and smaww-daddeh can stack bwockies."

That...sounded pretty boring.  He was past the age for finding stacking blocks fun (unless he could make a tower taller than he was).  Still, Liam did genuinely sound like he wanted to play with him, so what harm would there be?  He reached over, feeling a grand total of four blocks on the fluffy’s back...and they weren’t very big blocks.  Maybe only half the size he was used to.  And these were just as soft as the ground he was sitting on - even the ones he played with were at least made of plastic.  These probably wouldn’t hurt someone even if he threw it at them.  “Well...alright.  I can stack blocks with you for a bit.”

He took the four blocks off the fluffy’s back (noting a small dampness on a small portion of each - must have been where Liam grabbed them with his mouth to put on his back).  They were a lot lighter than he'd expected, so it was trivial to stack all four in a single column.

"*gasp* smaww-daddeh stack mowe bwockies den Weeum can!  Smaww-daddeh am su smawt!"

Toby just sat there, a blank expression on his face.  This kind of talk would've been patronizing if it came from any person. But coming from Liam, he seemed more honest - and that Liam wasn't lying about his own lesser ability.

Still, he was being praised for something he could do as a toddler, as if he were still a toddler.

But maybe he could have a little more fun

"Got any more blocks?" he asked, “I could make a tower much bigger than this one.”

Another shocked gasp from Liam.  “Smaww-daddeh can make towah wiff mowe dan fowe bwockies?!  Weeum wan see dis!”  He heard the fluffy rush off, returning shortly after.  “Hewe: Weeum have mowe bwockies dan Weeum can count!”

A quick check of the fluffy’s back revealed 5 blocks.

Stacking them all together was pretty easy - he just needed to use two blocks as the base, giving him a respectable 8-block-tall tower.  Not the tallest he’d ever made, but Liam’s gasps and cheers as he placed each block made it feel like he was constructing a world wonder. “Smaww-daddeh make da biggest towah evuh!  Smaww-daddeh am da smawtest daddeh dewe evah am!”  He could hear him waddle over, and felt him hug his hand.  It just felt silly, but at the same time, he felt a little warm and fuzzy receiving such genuine praise.

He let the fluffy hold on for a little while, before boredom once again set in.  He was sure he could build an even bigger tower, but he wasn’t really interested in doing more of that.  “Got anything else to play with, Liam?”

“Yus!  Mummah give Weeum wotsa toysies!  Weeum gu get odda toysies fow smaww-daddeh!”  Liam let him go, waddling off to what he’d assumed was a pile of toys.  His expectations weren’t high, but he patiently waited as he heard the fluffy rummage around, before waddling back towards him.  “Hewe, smaww-daddeh; Weeum bwing baww!  Can pway baww wiff Weeum!”  He felt something soft roll onto his hand - the ball was half as big as Liam, but was just as soft as the blocks.  And it was unexpectedly light, just like the blocks.

At least it was something that he did have a bit more interest in.  But there was still a complication: “I guess we can play, but uh, I’m not sure I can do so well.”

“Wuh smaww-daddeh mean?  Nu am hawd; just push baww wiff not-hoofsies!  Weeum den push baww tu smaww-daddeh!”

“Yeah, but how am I gonna know where you push it?  Or where to push it?”  He pointed towards his eyes, just in case Liam needed a reminder.

It seemed to take a moment for it to register.  “...ooh.  Maybeh smaww-daddeh jus stay dewe and Weeum wun awound?  Weeum wiww make wots of noisies su smaww-daddeh knuw wewe Weeum am?”

Toby just shrugged.  “I guess that could work.”  It’d be better than just the two of them staying still the entire time.

So the two played - Liam made plenty of noise for him to find where he was, a mix of cheering him on and his own enjoyment.  Admittedly, he was kind of enjoying it too, and it did feel good to make Liam so happy (as if that were difficult).  The two played until he heard Liam breathing heavily.  “*haff* *haff* smaww-daddeh?  Can *huff* stop?  Am *hoof* tiwed.”  They hadn’t even been playing for that long, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t making Liam run around that much.

But then again, Liam did have a lot of fat to him.  Probably wasn’t used to this much activity.  “Alright, we can take a break.”  He heard a triumphant sigh from the fluffy, who waddled over to another part of the room and started lapping something up.  And then he started munching on something - which did get his curiosity.  “Hey Liam: Fi said you had a full bowl of something.  What are you eating?”

“Weeum nummin kibbwe. Dey gud nummies, tho not as gud as weaw sketties.  Mummah awways make shuwe Weeum have nummies tu num.  Weeum wuv mummah!”

“Wait, so your kibble tastes like spaghetti?  Why would they make kibble taste like that?”

“Dat cause sketties am da bestest nummies evuh!  Weeum wuv when mummah give sketties!  Kibbwe taste kinda wike sketties, buh nu am da same.”  He’d suppose that made some sense - he did hear Liam babbling about spaghetti for the past few days.  Why he was obsessed with spaghetti, he didn’t know.

He heard Liam approach him once again - and felt him gently push his hand open with his snout.  Once it was fully open, he felt him drop something small and round in his hand.  “Smaww-daddeh nu can see kibbwe, buh maybeh smaww-daddeh can feew kibbwe?  And smeww kibbwe.  And if smaww-daddeh wan, can num kibbwe!  Weeum can shawe a widdwe.”

Once again, Toby had a blank expression on his face.  He knew full-well that kibble was not people food - last time he had pet food, it was not a good experience.  And he wasn’t really hungry at the moment.  He played around with the kibble piece, noting it was pretty soft, almost like a balled-up piece of bread.  He gave it a quick sniff, noting that it at least didn’t smell bad - kind of like those flavorless cereals his sister sometimes gave him by “accident”, but there was something else that he couldn’t put his finger on that made it a little...better.

…

Ok, he was legitimately curious now. “Liam, don’t tell Fi about this,” he said, before promptly depositing the kibble piece in his mouth.  It tasted pretty bland, and the texture was as soft as it felt, but there was a hint of something in there, kind of like... spaghetti sauce?  It was kind of weak, but maybe if he had a bit more, he could tell what exactly it was.  And it wasn't actually that bad-

“Well gee, I didn’t know you were still hungry.”

Damn it.  Of course she was watching at that exact moment.  "Screw you, Fi," he said, suppressing some stronger language only because of Liam, "I only ate it because he gave me one."

"Sure you did.  Sure you did."  He heard her footsteps move away, but she was also doing a poor job of containing her laughter.  He knew full well this wasn't the last time he'd hear about this from her.

"Smaww-daddeh wike kibbwe?" Liam asked, taking his attention away from his embarrassment.

"It’s ok, Liam," he spat out.  He didn’t want to dwell on it any longer.  “Got anything else to play with.”

“Weeum have sum odda toysies!  Weeum hab pwetty pikchas to wook at...nu, wait, smaww-daddeh nu can du dat.  Weeum have huggie-toysie...buh smaww-daddeh tuu big fow dat.  Hmm...smaww-daddeh wan pway wiff bwockies again?”

“Not really,” he bluntly stated.  “I’m thinking about going back to my room, actually.”  He had plenty of stuff to do in there, that he could do.  Not this toddler-level stuff Liam had.

But as he stood up, Liam spoke up.  “Can Weeum pwease pway wiff smaww-daddeh in smaww-daddeh’s woom?  Weeum nevuh gu dewe befowe!  Weeum wann see what toysies smaww-daddeh pway wiff!”

He hadn’t expected that request, and did have to think it over for a second: what stuff in there could he use to play with a fluffy?  “I...guess you can come along if you want.”  This earned him some happy cheering (a mix of “fank-yuu”, leg-hugs, and cheeping) from Liam, though he did need to take one precaution beforehand.  “But before we go to my room, do you need to use the litterbox first?”

Liam was silent for a moment, before walking over to where Toby assumed the litterbox was.  It sounded like he was exerting himself for a second, his small grunting soon followed by a resounding *pbbbblt* and the sound of sand being shifted around.  “Weeum make good poopsies and peepees fow smaww-daddeh!” Liam announced, before walking right back and brushing againt Toby’s leg.  “Weeum am weady, smaww-daddeh!”

Toby nodded, exiting the room and noting that Liam was, once again, walking ahead of him.  “Smaww-daddeh woom am dis way!” he announced, with Toby just nodding and “following along.”  And of course, once they reached the door (which was still where it always was), Liam announced it too; “Woom am hewe, smaww-daddeh!”

Once Toby opened it, he heard Liam walk right in.  “Waaaaaw!  Smaww-daddeh’s woom am su big!  Su much bigga dan Weeum’s woom!”  Which was a bit of an exaggeration - if he remembered room sizes right, this was only a little bigger.  “Nu am a wot a cowwows wike Weeum’s woom, buh smaww-daddeh wite woom stiww am pwetty!  Smaww-daddeh am su wucky tu have dis pwetty woom!”

“Haven’t heard anyone call it pretty before.”  Most people would call it “bland” or “boring” - not like painting the room or putting anything up would matter to him.  Mostly just white, as Liam said (and his sister made fun of him for many times).  “I guess there’s some stuff to play with here.  I was just gonna read a book-”

“Stowytime?!  Weeum wuv stowytime!”

“I didn’t mean aloud, but I guess I can read to you if you want.”  As much as he wanted to go right back to the novel he was already going through, he had to guess Liam wouldn’t be interested in anything that wouldn’t interest a toddler.  Fortunately, he still had such books.

He took a seat at his bed, grabbing his tablet right where he’d left it.  It was easy to find some appropriate reading material, though it wasn’t too surprising that Liam, lightly tapping his leg, didn’t know what he was doing.  “Whewe am stowy, smaww-daddeh?  Dat am bwight-box.”

“It is my book,” he said, finding something he deemed appropriate.  “It’s actually a lot of books.  Mom and Dad say it’s cheaper than buying a bunch of real books.  Here, let me show you - legs up, Liam.”  Once he felt Liam get off his leg, he reached down and found him sitting on his rump, his forelegs facing up; the “upsies” position, as Liam would call it.  He lifted him up with ease, placing him on the bed.

But as he went to pick up his tablet again, Liam spoke up again.  “Bwight-box-stowy nu have pikchas?  Jus wook bwack wike fwuff.  Bwight-box-stowy nu wowk?”

“That’s because there’s no reason for there to be pictures.  This kind of book is for blind people, so we don’t really need pictures on them.  Besides-”  He reached over, running his finger across the screen, “It is on.  There’s a bunch of bumps on here.  Try putting your hoof on it.”

The *pomf* of his hoofsteps could still be heard, even on this soft bed.  He knew Liam did what he’d asked when the fluffy gasped in amazement.  “Weeum nu see bumpies, but Weeum feew bumpies!  Why bwight-box-stowy have bumpies?  Bwight-box-stowy have huwties?  Need huggies?”

“It’s not hurt, Liam.  Those bumps are how I read.  I can’t read with my eyes, so I gotta read with my fingers.  Those bumps are letters.  They're called 'braille'.”

Another amazed gasp from Liam.  "Smaww-daddeh weed wiff not-hoofsies?!  Weeum nu know how tu weed even wiff see-pwaces!   Smaww-daddeh am su smawt!"  Liam approached him, hugging his belly.  "Ooky!  Weeum nu cawe if dewe nu am pikchas; Weeum wiww be happy if smaww-daddeh weed stowy to Weeum."

Toby grinned.  Everyone else that asked him to read to them only seemed to do it to see if he could actually read.  Liam was the first thing that was genuinely interested in being read to.

Carefully, he moved further onto his bed, enough that his entire body was on it as he laid down.  Liam was still on his lap, but now he didn't have to worry about him somehow rolling off onto the ground.  Liam didn't seem to mind, even shifting himself around to make the move easier.

In this more comfortable (and safer) position, he ran one hand along the tablet, his fingers pressing against the braille lettering, which he read aloud.  "The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play.  So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day…"

And with his other hand, his fingers brushed along Liam's fur, who let out a content "Coo~".